Foremost is the Future
by WIWJ
Summary: DEADLEST CATCH: Sig's worst nightmare.. but is the reality worse? Implyed spoilers for the 6th season on the Northwestern and "character" death. Who is the Nothwestern's heir apparent? Helps if you've read North by Northwestern.


A/N

I couldn't resist. It was very weird writing a 'story' about real people. I hope people find this.

Sig forgive me.. it's only a story.. besides.. i fixed it.

'character' 'death' ish.. and spoilers based on teaser sound bites that are always wrong anyway. Like Edgar wouldn't want the boat...

* * *

Sig Hansen knew two things as he bobbed in the icy water; his life as he knew it was over, no matter what, and that they would have to pry his dead frozen hands off of his brother before he would ever let go.

He couldn't feel his fingers anymore. So he starred at them, willing them not to unclench from the armpits of Edgar's suit. He'd stopped trying to talk to him a while ago, realizing the bloody gash in his brother's head was bad enough that he wouldn't just be _waking up_ any time now.

His boat was gone.

His father's boat. Probably at the bottom of the sea by now. He snorted when he imagined the crab crawling out of the hold, sitting in his chair.. the final revenge.. He imagined a giant king with it's big crab claws answering the coast guard. '_Nope.. No problems here Sir..'_

His brother's breathing switched it's normal rhythm, jolting him away from his hallucination.

"Edgar?" He muttered jerking his chin back clumsily to look at his gray face. The steady faint dusking of breath was enough to reassure him. "Good God." He shook his head. "Damn it Edgar, don't die."

Keeping his brother alive was the reason the Skipper was currently bobbing up in down in the water instead of in the life raft that he prayed his crew was in. If he hadn't turned back.. Sig watched his numb fingers tighten instinctively.

"If we go we go together." Hansen mused to his unconscious sibling. He pressed his eyes shut before forcing them open. He set his mind on what happened. How they'd gotten here in the first place.

It was a wave. A big ass wave.

…………

"Edgar!" Sig yelled back down the steps to the hull as the boat took another hard roll. "DAMN IT!"

His piercing eyes took in the scene again. "Abandon Ship!"

Nick Mavar's eyes flashed into Sig's.

"We gotta get off the damn.." Hansen muttered pushing his friend forward. "Get in your damn suit, launch the raft and get off the damn-. EDGAR!"

"We ain't leaving the-." Nick breathed shaking his head.

He shoved him again, harder than before, pushing until Nick was clear of him. Hansen grabbed at the pile of survival suits that Norman was tossing towards him.

"Help Matt." The Captain muttered as Norman zipped himself in. Bradley yelled as the middle Hansen brother moved his shattered leg into his orange suite. "Damn it MAVAR get your ass in the suite and get Matt and the Kid off the boat." He turned his head back towards the last place he saw his youngest brother. "EDGAR!"

At the mention of the rookie, Nick's eyes shot towards Jake, terror laced his baby face.

"Shit." He breathed.

"Where the hell is he?" Norman's irritation rose over the blaring sirens.

"He's still trying to start the damn..: " He looked at Norman then to the kid. " Launch the raft." He rubbed his hand over his damp face, pulling Nick close to him. "You get him home to his mother you hear me?"

"Sig.." He breathed.

"Promise me." He stopped, helping Nick pull Matt to his feet.

"We'll wait for you and Edgar." Bradley grimaced. Sig starred at Nick, Mavar's eyes clouded over as the message sank in.

"Get the **kid** in the **raft**." He repeated. "Don't you let him die." Giving Nick another shove forward, he ran back down into the belly of his ship for what he knew would be the very last time.

* * *

For a while he'd thought he'd heard them calling him, but it could have been the waves.

"Mavar and Norman got them in the raft." He nodded, his lips pursed stubbornly despite the fact his face was tight and sore. "Coast Guard'll be here soon."

Do not fall asleep. Do not fall asleep. Damn it. Damn it.

"Edgar." Sig's voice rasped out into the dark. "I wish you'd start runnin your big mouth and keep me awake." He tried to look at his brother, but it was no use. He couldn't move his head back anymore. "Damn it! You better be breathing, you little shit."

Suddenly the lights around him were blinding.

"Hello?" He called out towards the light.

"You Dumbass." Came the saucy reply from a familiar voice, he craned his head up to the toothy grin hanging over the side of the boat, strains of unkempt brown hair dangling in his face.

"Phil?"

"The Captain of the Mighty Northwestern. You're in a hell of a bitch now aren't you?"

"I'm dead?"

"**I'm** Dead." Phil snickered, reaching his hand out and pulling Sig effortlessly from the water.

"Edgar." Sig panicked, staring at his empty arms.

"Edgar's not here." Phil rolled his eyes like Sig was a moron.

"Where the hell is he?" The Captain demanded, looking over the side of the fishing boat they were on into the water. Except there was no water. Only a fluffy blue frost. "Oh Shit I'm dead." He moaned.

"You don't ever listen do you?" Phil chuckled.

"No." Sig groaned, turning around and finally taking in his surroundings. "Where the hell are we?"

"Don't you recognize it?" Phil leaned back against the rail, his eyes twinkling.

"It's the Foremost." He spun again, his voice in awe. "This is.."

"Heavenly?"

"Where's my father?" He asked, his face breaking into a amazed grin.

"YOU AIN"T DEAD!" Phil widened his eyes, shaking his head wildly back and fourth.

"Then why the hell am I here?" Sig shot back, his arms gesturing wildly.

"Cause I wanted to talk to you." Phil's gruff delivery was tempered as always by his soft voice.

"Talk to me?" Sig squawked. "So you sink my ship and kill me?"

"Will you shut up and listen?" Phil leaned over the rail. His arms crossed, looking calmly down into the 'water'. "You are not-."

"Dead. Yeah I get it." He huffed, running his arm over the wooden hull of the Foremost. He sniffed his fingers, no diesel. "I'm just not so sure I trust your judgment right now."

"Okay fine." Phil tossed his hand up in the air. "You're dead. Who gets your boat?"

"My-?" Sig's voice trailed off. "Phil my boat is at the bottom of the Bearing Sea!"

"Oh For God Sakes." Harris muttered to himself. "Pretend it's not!"

"Edgar!" He yelled back. "Norman and Edgar own the boat."

"I didn't say who _owns_ it. I said who the hell _gets_ it?!" Phil grimaced at the other skippers stupidity. Sig started to pace, his mind insanely wandering away from the memory of his sinking ship, helpless crew and lifeless brother to ponder Phil Harris' question.

"Edgar." He muttered softly, with a half hearted shrug. "I guess Edgar."

"You guess?" Phil grinned. "Does he want it?"

"Yeah." The Norwegian's accent tapped the word, unable to mask the doubt.

"You ask him lately?"

"Thought you said I ain't dead." Sig growled.

"Trust me Sigurd.. We don't live forever." He smiled.

"_Sig? God Damn it! Sig?" _

"Edgar?" Hansen whispered in confusion, leaning towards the swirling blue dust beneath his father's sunken ship.

"You watch out for my boys out there Hansen." Phil growled, the stupid smile still plastered to his round face.

"_Hand me the damn smelling sauce."_

"_Damn it Sig." _

"Mavar." He squinted, just making out the top of his boat.

"_Jake just hold the throttle_."

He looked back at Phil.

"My boys." Harris demanded.

"Yeah.." Hansen nodded absently, his eyes drawn back to the swirl. He barely registered the feeling of Phil Harris' boot planted in his back.

"Tell Derrik not to sink my damn boat!" Phil called as Sig spiraled back down onto the Northwestern with a slap.

…………..

Norman Hansen smacked his brother again.

"Dummy." The quiet man chuckled as his older brother's eyes started to flicker.

"Norm?" He muttered in confusion before his eyes flew open in a panic. "Edgar?"

"Sig?" Edgar's sarcastic tone almost brought tears to the Captain's eyes. He struggled to get up, Nick and Norman each grabbed an arm. Sig's hand went straight to Edgar's head. His younger brother flinched at the unusual touch as Hansen traced the spot where the gruesome gash had been.

"You okay?"

"You okay?" The younger man mimicked unsurely, his hand cuffing down on his brother's elbow.

"What the hell happened?"

"Wave." Norman said with a sigh.

"Blew out the wheelhouse windows." Nick muttered. "Knocked you right out onto the upper deck."

"Damn lucky it didn't toss you off." Edgar's wide eyes shook slowly back and forth. "We woulda lost ya."

"He okay?" Matt yelled from the shattered wheel house.

"Yeah. Looks like it." Nick shook his head again before letting out a hefty whew. Norman shook his head back and forth before making his way back down to the deck.

"I'll get a broom." Matt muttered.

"Edgar?" Sig looked at his younger brother intently.

"Sig?" He mirrored, his wide sarcastic eyes only tempered slightly by the serious way his Skipper's hand had not let go of his shoulder.

"When we get back to port. You and me we're gonna have a long ass chat."

"K." The younger man said carefully helping pull his brother to his feet.

"Who's drivin' my boat?" Sig asked in confusion turning around.

"Jake." Edgar answered.

"Jake?" Sig mused.

"Yeah well.. I thought you were dead."

"Jake?"

"I don't know!"

"Jake?"

"You better move kid." Matt mumbled under his breath.

…………..

"Well I was just calling to make sure you knew that we're all here for you." Sig Hansen watched from the dock as Edgar and Jake installed the new wheel house windows. He watched the way his brother explained to the kid where to put what. With a weary sigh he went back to the man on his cell phone. "I just want you to know Jake… that your Dad was real proud of you. No matter what you decided. Bye now."

He swallowed hard as he watched Edgar trot back towards the rail of the boat, looking down at him.

"Boy's doing okay?"

"I guess." He sighed. "How about the kid?"

"He's fine."

"You ready to go?"

"What are we talking about?" Edgar shrugged, stepping carefully from the boat to the dock.

"The future." The Skipper quipped.

"Uh Oh." The deck boss teased.

"Shut up." Hansen yelped. "I'll buy."

"Uh Oh." Edgar laughed.

"Will you shut up?" Sig sighed.

From somewhere he was pretty sure he could hear Phil Harris snort.


End file.
